Update: Shaquille O’Neal Says ‘I Get It’ As He Reacts To Ex-Wife Shaunie Henderson Sharing She’s Unsure If She ‘Ever Really’ Loved Him 

Update: Shaquille O’Neal Says ‘I Get It’ As He Reacts To Ex-Wife Shaunie Henderson Sharing She’s Unsure If She ‘Ever Really’ Loved Him

Update: (May 8, 2024): Shaquille O’Neal has entered the chat.

The retired athlete took to his Instagram to share a response to his ex-wife Shaunie Henderson’s (formerly O’Neal) recent interview with Tamron Hall. For those who missed it, Shaunie elaborated on an excerpt of her new memoir “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms” where she reveals she doesn’t know if she was “ever really in love with” Shaq.

However, Shaq made it clear that he understands her feelings. His post read,

“I UNDERSTAND… I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH ME EITHER. WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST… ALL LOVE, SHAQ”

He captioned the text,

“trust me i get it”

Original Story: (May 8, 2024): Do you think you truly loved your ex?

Reality TV star and First Lady, Shaunie Henderson (formerly O’Neal), is making headlines with revelations about her previous marriage as she promotes her new memoir “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms.”

During a recent appearance on Tamron Hall (May 7), the 49-year-old discussed her book, where she openly questioned if she was ever truly in love with her ex-husband, Shaquille O’Neal.

In the book, Shaunie Henderson explains,

“Looking back, I don’t know that I was ever really in love with the man, but I was in love with the idea of being married to the man I had a family with. I was in love with the idea of building a life together.”

When asked about the excerpt on Tamron Hall, Shaunie Henderson replied:

“I was in love with the partnership that I never got. I didn’t experience partnership in a relationship until now, but Shaquille and I have a great relationship now and beautiful children. I would not change any part of my story … no matter how depressed, how sad, how much of at the bottom I felt… I would not change one part of it.”

Shaunie and basketball star Shaquille O’Neal were married for almost nine years before divorcing in 2011. The two share four children: Shareef, Shaqir, Amirah, and Me’arah. Shaquille O’Neal is also a father figure to Shaunie’s son Myles from a previous relationship. He also fathered daughter Taahirah with his ex-girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.

Shaunie also discussed another part of her book where she mentions falling into patterns because of her family’s past. When quoting the memoir, talk show host Tamron Hall remarked:

“I’m getting emotional, because you go deep in this. It’s why it’s a beautiful book. You talk about your parents and they were married for 54 years prior to your dad’s passing in March 2022. You wrote ‘growing up as a child there was infidelity’ on your dad’s part and your mom could not forgive him for what he done, but stayed in the marriage”

She continued,

“That leads you to a pattern, which you write about in your own marriage”

Tamron Hall then referred to a passage in Shaunie’s memoir where she reflects on her marriage to Shaquille O’Neal:

“I’m not proud of the fact that I spent so many years in denial. It just shows how easy it is to slip into patterns and become comfortable with them, even when they’re toxic.”

Shaunie elaborated:

“No one writes this manual of how to do life. I own my space, I own my decisions, I own the fact that I was in complete denial and saw things right in front of me. I was protecting myself, I was protecting my kids. I had this family. To me, losing my marriage was failing.”

Shaq, 52, has expressed regret over losing Shaunie numerous times throughout the years, alluding to infidelity. During an appearance on “The Pivot Podcast” in April 2022, Shaq explained:

“I have two wonderful women that have given me beautiful, gorgeous children. I have to protect and I have to provide and I have to love them forever.”

He added of Shaunie,

“I was bad. She was awesome. It was all me. We don’t need to talk about what I was doing but I was not protecting her and protecting those vows. Sometimes when you live that double life you get caught up. I’m not gonna say it was her, it was all me. She did exactly what she was supposed to do and gave me beautiful kids, took care of the house, and took care of corporate stuff. It was all me.”

Shaunie is now married to Pastor Keion Henderson. The two tied the knot in 2022 and were featured in a VH1 wedding special documenting their union.

Shaunie O’Neal, Pastor Keion Henderson

Will you be picking up a copy of Shaunie’s book? Let us know in the comments!